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by Hard To Scare
Summary: Azia's new to New York from Italy. It's almost a godsend when she falls in with the Manhattan newsies, but when the newspaper fatcats up the price of the Papes, all her new friends go on strike. Through it all, can she keep carrying her newfound banner? OC/ Mush


_In 1899, the streets of New York City echoed with the voices of the newsies._

_Peddling papers of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearts, and other giants of the newspaper world. They were the business backbone. _

_On every corner you saw them carrying the banner._

_Bringing you the news for a penny a pape._

_Poor orphans, runaways, hell, even immigrants,_

_The newsies were a ragged army, without a leader._

_Until one day, that all changed_

A melody came from the beggars and bums in the fading light of New York as the small Italian girl " Look Down, Look down and see the beggars at your feet, Look down and show some mercy if you can." Azia took in the sights of exhaust and rain on the streets, making it shine like silver, "Look down and see the sweepings of the street, Look down, look down, Upon your fellow man!" Azia shuddered remembering the streets of Italy and her family's slow and painful death as she heard a homeless woman cough. But back to the matter at hand, she sped foreword, navigating the roads of this new home like she was stuck in circles. _Dan Dio Matto cherchi_!

Azia bobbed through the streets of Manhattan. She was cold, wet, and hungrier than she had ever been in her life, including her time in Italy. The teenager's dark eyes were full of tears as panic was rising in her chest. The events mulled over in her mind as she reflected and attempted to process what she had seen, with the little English she had.

_The tall man kept on kicking the crying boy as a sickening crack could be hear all the way down the alleyway. 'What is he doing?' Azia thought of her little brother in Italy and decides what to do, as the 12 year old's screams grew louder. _

_"Take that ya liddle runt! No one messes with the Delanceys'"_

Azia stopped as she realized she had gotten even more turned around then when she had come to Amercia barely four days ago and she had already gotten even more lost than she was in Italy. Panic continued to swell like a balloon in her chest as the yells of the two oafish men grew closer.

_"Leggo of hím." Azia said, voice shaky, that basically concluded her knowledge of English. "Waddaya doin 'ere forigner?" Azia's stomach sunk as she realized this would likely end in a brawl. A string of swear words laced through her mind as she though of her fights with her older brothers._

The Italian shivered as the sun began to set. She'd probably end up sleeping by the statue of the sitting man again. After three days, it was sup rising she had gotten herself hurt. She sprinted through the quieting streets harder and faster, curly ponytail, sticking out from under her hat, was not like a fan.

A light! Relief rushed through the girl as she bounded up the steps of a small house, it had some writing on the doorway, but it was probably in English, so she wouldn't read it anyway. Azia smiled when the door flew open and a loud bell was rung.

Not stopping for anyone, even the old man who stared at her, the small Italian girl hopped over what was probably a front desk and hid underneath. The old man was stunned when Azia curled into a ball as if making herself smaller would make her troubles go away.

"Uh, Cowboy?" The old man called, leaving Azia in peace, a ball of large baggy jacket and cap under the front desk. What is a _cauboi_? Just then the men who were beating the kid stumbled in,

"WHERE's THE PEST!" screamed the one with a bowler hat. Just then, although Azia couldn't see it, a few boys around her age, which was fifteen, came down the stairs and looked in humor at Oscar and Morris.

"Youse lose sumtin' fellas?" The one with the crutch spoke, guarded by his friends, "Noneyer concern newsies, hey hows your friend.. . Boots it it? He was looking a little down last I saw." One immediately stepped foreword, "You did that to Boots?"

"Cowboy, don't start anything' ya hear?" The old man said, still trying to figure out why Azia was there, but didn't rat her out to Oscar and Morris, half wasted and very, very, angry.

"We saw that little slut come in here'"

"What little slut Oscar?" the tall brown-haired guy replied snidely, they totally knew each other.

"Shaddap Jack, skinny, Italianish goil, not like you'd know her." The one with the bowler hat was still sporting a fat lip, courtesy of Azia before she ran "Not like you'd know any goil's jackie-boy" The other one replied, seeming to enjoy himself.

"Those damn foreigner's can't keep there filthy paws were they don't belong." Bowler hat addressed the room, "I'd not Morris." replied Jack calmly.

But it was too late for the Delancey's.

Azia hopped over the desk and put to use her fighting skills over spending many years with four older brothers.

The italian's face was beet red and the teenage boys were whooping and shouting as she grabbed a nearby chair and smashed into the man's head, "scream like a _cagna_!" She just kept pounding on Oscar until Morris slapped her right across the face, it felt like her eye would come clean out! Azia was stunned for a moment and the newsboys watched in anticipation as their small world was still.

The boys looked at each other. "Soak 'Em!"

They charged eagerly into a large fight. Azia, while she recovered from the strike on the cheek, rallied and grabbed a nearby chair. The present newsboys looked on in awe as what seemed like a pretty flower of a girl was screaming Italian and beating Oscar with a chair.

"_Prendere che voi due cretini, pensi che sia giusto da colpire ragazze e ragazzi battere?_" Azia huffed in annoyance,"_Che diavolo è quest?"_Azia puffed as her blood pressure rose higher and higher.

_"Sono solo in America e ho subito incontrato voi due?"_ Oscar was helped up by Morris_, "Vieni vicino a me o quel ragazzo nuovo e lasceranno il desiderio non è mai nato!"_

Morris and Oscar had pissed of a hormonal Italian, which, if they had any common sense, they wouldn't of done in the first place. "Wassasmada wif you kids, I said take it ousside!" the old man was yelling

the young boy who they beat came and tugged Jack's arm, "Whassap Boots?" "That goil saved my skin Jack!" "Well we can't let dat go can we."

Azia was rubbing the back of her hands free of blood while trying to fend of flashbacks of brawling with Nikolai, Piet, Rob, Kole, and Rik. Her brother's were gone, her parents were gone. They were all gone.

The distressed Italian's hair was falling all over her face as the tallest brown-haired boy stuck out his hand gingerly, like she might bite.

"Hey, I'm Jack, You are?" She gave him a confused look, "English?" the formerly angry italian held up her hands and gestured small, "lil." "Name?" "_che cosa_?" "Look I think we'll call you Daze," Azia turned her head, it works because I thought you wassa flower an you left Oscar dazed when you hit him withat chair!" The rest of the boys there erupted with laughter as Newly-Dubbed Daze was left with the old man to figure out what she had gotten herself into.

For no English, she could tell it was going to be fun.

XX

"Well I guess you're staying, so you stay here." The old man. "Look I know ya don't have much English, but ya did a good job with them Delancey's pompus brutes evasince they was liddle." Azia cocked her head, only getting pieces,

"I'm Kloppman, Daze. It's nice ta meet ya." He stuck out his hand, patient, like he had been in this situation before. "Il mio nome è Azia Nickoulette Carerro il fouth."

"Thems many names eh? Lucky we callin' you Daze," Kloppman passed her a blanket as Azia quickly burrowed her way into the blankets in her bottom bunk. She had the spare room with a large window that if in the morning, would be filled with sunlight that would catch on the wooden floorboards, making the entire room warm. But it was night, and from what Azia could tell, New York was truly the city of stars.

Falling harder asleep, Azia hummed a song she had learned only earlier in the day. She didn't know what it meant; she wouldn't for a long time.

"Suddenly I see, suddenly it starts. My anxious heart beats so full. Yesterday I was alone, today I'm here beside y'all." "Something still unclear, something not yet here, has begun. " It was so true.


End file.
